Stuck In Bunker 9
by aboardtheargo
Summary: Leo offers to show Reyna around Bunker 9 and share the new technology he's discovered as a form of peace offering. But as usual, something always goes wrong. Except for maybe the fact that the Greeks and Romans finally decided to get on the same page without killing each other. (No romance. Just a platonic friendship formed.)


**Hello, my good people! Okay so here's a Leo/Reyna story which does not pair them up romantically. They appeal to me better as friends. This occurs probably in the HoH timeline, right after Camp Jupiter invades Camp Half-Blood but they decide to make peace.**

* * *

"Are you sure they got the message?"

"Yeah Reyna, I'm positive."

Leo was sitting on his work chair, watching Reyna pace back and forth in front of him. It was nine in the morning, and they were stuck inside Bunker 9. He had offered to show Reyna the blueprints and what the sphere he found could do as a peace offering, but by accident something came flying out, exploding on the ceiling, and causing the entrance to be blocked by piles of rocks. It had only been thirty minutes and Reyna was getting restless with worry over what Octavian could be doing to her campers right now. Leo had already voiced a message to his cabin over the intercom for help for two times now.

He eyed Reyna with a slight interest. In her purple camp shirt and denim shorts, she looked less intimidating. In fact, with her tanned skin, she looked like any other California girl her age.

Eventually, the praetor must have gotten dizzy (because Leo's head was already spinning with her pacing around) as she sat on the floor and rested her chin on her knees. Leo would have offered her the chair since it seemed like the gentleman thing to do, but instead, he decided to sit on the floor with her.

"I'm sorry again. For getting the two of us stuck here. I messed up again." Leo said, not meeting Reyna's eyes.

"As long as we're getting out of here. You're forgiven." Reyna replied. Leo looked up at her. She was watching him with a nonchalant expression.

"Thanks."

An awkward silence fell between them. And it went on. And on. And on. Leo couldn't help but notice Reyna's SPQR tattoo. It had four barlines. He took it as an opportunity to spark up a conversation because the silence was killing him slowly.

"So you've been in the legion four years?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Reyna answered, her fingers instinctively going to her tattoo.

"How can you compare life in the legion from Camp Half-Blood?"

"Well…it's much stricter in the legion. Punishments are harsher. It's just, well, what Romans really are instilling in their soldiers is discipline. Here at Camp Half-Blood it's more laid back, but you're quite naïve to all demigods and monsters which results in you being deceived. That's one flaw I've noticed just as the pride of the Romans is a flaw and so is their desire for honor. They don't care if it's wrong, as long as it's the honourable thing to do." Reyna answered.

"You know, you're one of the most sensible Romans around." Leo remarked.

"Are you comparing me to Octavian?"

Leo thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

Reyna actually managed a smile. A playful smile. _She's smiling, _Leo thought, _she might not murder me here after all._

"So what about you? How's your life here at Camp Half-Blood?"

"It's a fun place. Yeah, laid back. People are kind and caring and stuff. But…I just don't feel like I belong. Like having a home with a distant family. Ever since Piper and Jason got together it's like they've cut me out of their group. This cave is now my home. And there's thing…" Leo trailed off, realizing all he babbled about. He felt like a character in a drama series who had a tragic back story. Heck, he was sharing his emotional burdens to a girl he barely even knew and whose home he nearly blasted into smithereens.

"Sorry, I'm talking nonsense." Leo apologized.

"No, it's alright. Go on," Reyna urged, "I can listen."

And so Leo did. He even trusted Reyna about the whole Hazel situation. She was shocked to find out that Hazel came back from the dead seventy years later, and she just didn't show it. Leo could tell. He even told her about his mom and the fire. Reyna was such a great listener it encouraged him to say even more. He was even going to tell her about his dreams but decided against it. He was talking too much.

"So yeah. That's pretty much it." Leo ended his story with a shrug. Reyna was staring at him. Leo couldn't tell if it was pity or what. That girl made him wonder if Lady Gaga got the inspiration of her song 'Poker face' from Reyna. Yeah, that would've made sense.

"For what it's worth, I admire you, Leo."

Leo looked up, surprised. Was there something wrong with his hearing? It must have been the after-effect of the explosion.

"What?"

"I said I admire you." Reyna repeated, smiling sincerely. "You keep moving forward. No matter how difficult things get, you could always find something good in it. That's definitely something."

Probably he got hit by one of the rocks and this was his subconscious dreaming, but did somebody just compliment his personality? She didn't compliment him for being funny or being good with tools, but for being a strong person?

"Wow, I…I don't know what to say. Thanks, I guess? Thanks, Reyna." Leo said, rubbing the back of his neck. He hoped that his face wasn't as red as it felt. Reyna just smiled and nodded in response, looking away. She sweeped her undone hair on one side. How had he failed to notice before what a fine-looking girl the Roman praetor was?

Leo checked the time.

It was nearly noon.

"So…you hungry?"

* * *

"How is that going?"

Annabeth inspected the backhoe that was being built by the children of Hephaestus and Vulcan. "Bad." Came Nyssa's voice. The girl approached Annabeth. She was covered in grease along with a few burns on her clothes.

"Why don't we just blast it?" Percy suggested.

"Because the explosion might trigger more machinery inside the cave to explode." Annabeth explained as Percy slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Greeks and Romans working together." He said. Annabeth looked up at him. His green eyes sparkled as he watched.

"It's a start." Annabeth replied.

"Guys. It's been three hours. They're probably starving or suffocating or suffering from dehydration inside." Frank said.

"Just give it time, Frank. And besides, they may or may not be killing each other inside." Annabeth turned to him. Hazel, Piper, and Jason were behind him. He was frowning with worry and had looked this way since the Hephaestus cabin had received the distress call from Leo.

"What if they're hurt?" Jason asked. Annabeth sighed, frowning too.

"Percy, do you have a drachma?"

Percy quickly retrieved the small golden coin from his pocket and handed it to Annabeth. They stood over a small brook nearby.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Leo Valdez and Reyna inside Bunker 9, Camp Half-Blood."

Almost immediately, an image shimmered. Leo and Reyna were seated across each other, a bonfire in between them. They held sticks with marshmallows over the flame.

"Hey Reyna, have you ever gone to the beach in Malibu for fun? Are there plenty of hot girls?" Leo was asking her.

"Guys!" Percy exclaimed. The two whipped their heads to their direction. Reyna looked relieved.

"Guys! I miss you all!" Leo said, fake sobbing.

"We miss you too. How are you in there? Is anyone hurt?" Annabeth asked them.

"No, but one of us is losing their sanity." Reyna answered, blowing the heat off her marshmallow.

"I'm not that bad." Leo huffed. "Anyways, we're perfectly okay here. Although it would be much appreciated if you get us out of here as soon as possible. You know, in case anything else explodes."

Annabeth noticed Jason's eyes widen at this. "And if you guys are concerned about how things are going on between us, we're good. I mean, I'm still alive, aren't I?! And I think the praetor might be secretly in love with me but she doesn't know it yet." Alarm came next in the eyes of the son of Jupiter.

"Excuse me. No." Reyna said, taking a bite from her mallow and swallowing. "How are my campers? If Octavian is being a _podex_ you have my permission to knock him out."

Frank grinned. "I volunteer."

"Volunteer accepted." Reyna replied.

"You're being awfully calm about this, Rey." Percy said, "I'd expect you to like…scream at Leo and rip his head off or something."

Reyna laughed. "Nope. We're okay." She assured. "Better now that we know you're doing something to get us out of this…cave."

"It's not just a cave," Leo interjected.

"Okay. You guys are okay and unharmed. That's all we needed to know." Hazel said in relief.

"Okay you guys can now get back to getting us out of here, and we can resume in our discussion about life, people, and doomsday." Leo said, waving his marshmallow stick.

"What people?" Piper asked.

"Adios." Leo replied with a wink. Annabeth thought that she saw amusement in Reyna's expression before Leo waved the Iris Message off.

"They…seem to be having a good time." Frank said, scratching his head.

"I think it's better that way. Leo trying to get on Reyna's good side." Hazel said.

"And Romans and Greeks working together. It's perfect." Percy agreed.

"Well, let's get back to work." Annabeth suggested. "Percy, might you also consider bringing me a drink?"

* * *

Reyna ate the last of her marshmallow and dropped her stick beside her. Leo put out the fire.

"I hope you're satisfied?"

"Yes."

Leo whistled. "I'm glad you aren't as high maintenance as you look."

"My sister, Hylla. She's high maintenance." Reyna pointed out.

Leo nodded and lay down on the cold hard ground. "I dunno about you, but I'm taking a _siesta_ while I can." He said, before drifting off to sleep a few minutes later.

Reyna just sat in silence. Leo wasn't that bad, after all. She even trusted him enough – yes, the boy who got possessed and bombed her home – she trusted him enough to even tell him about Circe. The island. What happened after Percy and Annabeth destroyed it. Leo was all ears to her story. That was probably in return to how she listened to his.

Yes, Reyna trusted Leo with her story. But she never really trusted anyone with her feelings. At one point Leo had asked her about how close she was to Jason and all she told him was that they went on quests together and rose to praetorship together. She made it clear that they were nothing more than friends, but she could tell that Leo didn't believe her. A few minutes later, Leo bolted upright, panting.

"Bad dream?" Reyna guessed.

Leo nodded in response, shifting to sit cross-legged and rubbing his eyes.

"Normal stuff. You know, Gaea and her army. Plotting to kill us all. Nothing out of the ordinary." He said.

Reyna nodded in understanding.

"Any update on the outside world?" Leo asked.

"None." Reyna replied. Leo groaned.

From the corner of her eye, Reyna noticed something move fast. She craned her neck to take a better look. Probably just her imagination. Then, a large piece of metal fell. Reyna was immediately on her feet, drawing a knife. Leo retrieved a hammer from his tool belt. Then from the shadows, came out a large rat. Reyna yelped and in a blink, she was standing on a chair.

"What…?" Leo stared at her in confusion. "You're afraid of mice?"

"It's a phobia I got from Circe's island. It could turn into…a pirate or something. I despise rodents generally."

"Makes sense. Since Annabeth's afraid of spiders, you might as well be afraid of mice." Leo guessed. Then he grinned.

"Don't even think about it, Leo Valdez. You owe me. Just get rid of that…pest."

Leo ran after the mice, a few projects and pieces of metal falling here and there. Reyna would flinch everytime the rat made its annoying high-pitched sound. She hated those creatures with all her being. They were above Octavian on her list of everything she hated. Eventually, Leo caught the rat in a box. When Reyna made her way down, Leo laughed hysterically.

"You should've seen your face. It practically screamed, 'Leo! Save me!'" Leo mocked in an awful soprano tone.

"That's funny. If you mention a word of this to anyone, I swear you'll find this knife poking through your chest." Reyna threatened.

* * *

"We're almost done." Malcolm informed them. Jason mentally sighed in relief. He'd rather jump off a cliff than admit that he went out of his mind with worry when he found out that Reyna was one of the people stuck inside Bunker 9. He didn't know why, but thinking about his co-praetor made him feel nothing but doubt in himself whenever he was with Piper. _No,_ he scolded himself, _I'm happy with Piper. I'm in love with her. And we're staying together._ There. But every now and then, Reyna's name would slip in his mind making him feel different.

"I do hope that Leo's okay." Piper said. Her voice alone soothed him.

"Well he seems to be having a good time with Reyna anyway." It was only after he said it that he realized how bitter he sounded.

Piper opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by Percy.

"Jason, they need your lightning powers to give the backhoe a jumpstart. They're done." He said. Jason nodded and followed Percy to the massive construction machine. Annabeth handed Jason two pieces of metal clips with wires attached to them.

"Pikachu! I choose you!" Percy said, pointing at Jason. The son of Jupiter rolled his eyes.

"Thunderbolt!" Frank added. The two boys laughed.

"That's real funny," Jason remarked sarcastically.

"Okay Jason, to the count of three." Annabeth instructed. She looked like she was trying to suppress a laugh.

"One, two, three!"

The next thing Jason knew, he felt energy draining out of him. Blue sparks were being emitted by his hands.

"It works!" Hazel squealed. The backhoe rotated and started to move.

"Pikachu! Return!" Came Percy's voice.

"Seriously, dude?" Jason turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

Inside the backhoe was someone Jason recognized as one of the legionnaires whom he was told arrived a few months after he disappeared. The backhoe's claw started to take away the piles of rubble and slabs of rock.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked Jason, slipping her hand into his.

"Yeah," Jason replied almost immediately, although his head was spinning.

In what seemed like five years to Jason, the rocks blocking the entrance of the cave cleared out and Leo came walking out.

"I'm back!" He said.

"Leo!" Jason exclaimed. Next came Reyna. She seemed relieved alright.

"Reyna!" Dakota called out dramatically, running to Reyna and hugging her. "Don't leave us with the teddy bear murderer ever again! We love you!" Surprising as it was, Reyna laughed. A few other Romans approached her, probably to ask how it was.

"What exactly happened?" Annabeth asked Leo.

"Well this thing came flying out of the sphere and exploded. And we got locked in." Leo answered. "Just another attempt at peace that went wrong but worked out in the end. Reyna's cool."

"She is." Hazel agreed with a grin.

"The Greeks and Romans worked together? That's amazing." Reyna said, running to them. Jason sensed Piper's mood change. She tensed up under his arm.

"I know!" Annabeth said, as the two daughters of war gave each other a high 5. Their friendship could work, after all.

"Juno's dream come true." Reyna said.

"I wonder who'll get locked up with who next…" Leo wondered aloud. Piper elbowed him in the ribs.

"You and Octavian." Frank answered.

"Wow. Very nice." Leo said with a roll of his eyes.

"All is well. We can work together, it's possible." Percy said with a smile, his green eyes gleaming defiantly.

Jason nodded. His eyes travelled to the demigods around him, each with an important role in the upcoming war. They could do this.

* * *

Leo and Reyna roamed around the dining pavilion, watching demigods eat. "Let's play a game. You are completely and genuinely part of my club of single people, right?" Leo said.

"Yes, I'm single. But last I checked, I didn't sign up for any club."

"No you didn't, there's automatic membership. I want to play this game I like to call 'Have You Met Reyna?'"

"Leo, what –"

Too late. The lunatic son of Hephaestus clasped a hand on a muscular boy's shoulder. The boy turned around. He had tan skin, sun-kissed blonde hair, and dark blue eyes.

"Have you met Reyna?" Leo asked him, pushing Reyna to the boy and running off. She was definitely going to make Leo Valdez dig his own grave. But on second thought…

"No," The boy said, watching Leo run off like a goof. Then he turned his attention to Reyna and smiled, revealing pearl-white teeth that would've blinded Reyna if the sun was around to shine on them.

"I'm glad we could finally meet. Leo's told me a lot of stuff about you. My name is Will Solace." He said, holding his hand out.

* * *

**And there it ends. If you watch How I Met Your Mother, then you'd know the game 'Haaave you met Ted?' Haha, I love that show! Anyway, I do hope for some reviews.**


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